The Dragons
"Aeter above, they are coming for us. Infernos on the wind, adorned with wings of death. Our Doom is coming, and it knows our name." ~ Unknown, 19th of Rain's Reap, 1432, 20th Decamillennium. Source was a slightly charred piece of parchment, miraculously intact and legible, within the scorched house of a prophet. 'Summary' Dragons are mystical beasts that are nearly as old as the Realm itself is. They were created by Kranin, as winged steeds for the Overlords, the Gotuns, the Giants serving as mankind's protectors and guardians during the First Age. They come in an unknown amount of shapes and sizes, with an abundance of colors to them and no end of different sets of powers and priorities. Tales speak of dragons slaughtering and pillaging a countryside, burning it with hellfire, others speak of dragons forming bonds with humans and being faithful companions, and yet other speak of dragons acting very much like reclusive wizards, practicing powerful magics, living in secluded locations, and being generally mysterious. Still other tales tell of wizards hoarding gold and treasure in their mountain caves and sleeping the rest of their days within their piles of gold. With dragons, there is no end to variety, and no similar end to the danger they present. ". . . In those days, Dragons spread their wings across the sky of Anvil, and Giants walked the Realm. But, after that Fateful battle, in which Markus was defeated and magic first revealed, the Dragons left Anvil to its devices, their masters laid to rest in the young soil." ~ Excerpt from Alburus Storn's On Dragons, Revisited. '' The above quote explains the large absence of dragons on Drionus' central continent, Anvil. After the Overlords were defeated, and Clans exiled, Dragons mysteriously left to different corners of the Realm. Now they are found largely beyond the West Vale, in the Iccar Mountains, or in the rocky cliff plateaus of Or'lancc, or the snowy wastelands of the White, or even some in the desolate plains of the Black Hills, but little-to-none in central Anvil. Legends speak of some ancient dragons living in the southern mountains of Anvil, and one in particular, dubbed "the Watcher," is said to sleep around Watcher's Peak (named for him). Whether or not these legends hold any truth is unknown, but nevertheless, it holds true that most dragons are found elsewhere form Anvil. Dragon Types There are no concretely defined and categorized dragon types, but there are certainly some speculations, largely found in the Dragonslayer camps in the Iccar Mountains. It should be noted that any defining features of these non-official dragon "types" can easily be found in others elsewhere, and in no way are entirely exclusive to one type. Also, nearly every "type" listed can vary in size from no larger than a wagon to as large as mountains. - The '"Iceback"' dragon is found largely in the snowy wastes of No Man's Land, the dangerous, frozen wasteland betwixt Vulgradia and Whitegard. They are usually an icy blue, and their breath is not one of fire, but of frost - a cold, arcane ice. - '"Arrowtail"' dragons are native to the rocky cliffs of Or'lancc, and it certainly looks the part, with its dull, brown or gray scales and dangerous, natural weapons. Its longs, spiny tail is home to hundreds of spiky projectiles, which, upon either a whip of its tail or simply a thought, it can send flying out to impale, and possibly kill, its foe. Sometimes these spikes are laced in a natural poison, furthering the effectiveness of the defense. - The name of this "type" of dragon is still largely for debate, up in the air. While some wish to call it a '"Bonejaw" for its large, bony exoskeleton in place of scales, others find this name utterly fails to describe the raw, unbridled power these dragons wield, and the awe-inspiring sight they are, though they have offered few better alternatives. Bonejaws are massive dragons which have, in place of scales, an exoskeleton which is even tougher. They often wield enormous magical powers, case and point being the artwork pictured here, a Dragon known as "the Stormcaller," who ravaged the Shattered Coast and the Harenoss shores for some time. - '''"Red Death" is the quite unoriginal name for one of the most common breeds of dragons, the classic fire-breathing, muscular monstrosity what ravages villages, living largely in the Iccar Mountains. These dragons are often confused with the Green Treasure-Snatcher, though that confusion is entirely pointless as these "types," these classifactions, are entirely for show and in no way actually indiciative of specific dragon breed. - The "Green Treasure Snatcher," also called the Green-Gold-Gobbler and Green Treasure-Horder, or any permutation therein, is another "classic" dragon, though certainly not its own breed of dragon. This one is a silly attempt to classify dragons, but personality shouldn't be taken into account for such an effort, if the effort is taken at all. These are the kinds of dragons who hoard gold and treasure, and then settle into a cave with it all. There are some other notable "types" of dragons, namely the Dwarven Bronzeback, a short, squat dragon native mostly to the Whitelands, renowned for its stupidity, the "Sunwing," a boring name for an otherwise spectacular, beautiful creature, and "Tigerspine," an inept name for a slithery, near-flightless dragon. Usually, however, one should refrain from classifying dragons, as no one dragon can be fit entirely within a "type." Again, it must be noted that dragons are a hugely diverse species with a powerful, mystical, magical nature, and classifying them simply won't do.